Poll Question:
Hotel operators:
How much money have you spent complying with the Graeme-Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act?
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To purchase conference materials (Conference Summary Notebook and USB Drive with papers and PowerPoints) for $199.00, please contact Claudia Aslin.
Edited by the Loss Prevention Management Institute
An Affiliate of HospitalityLawyer.com
February 2010 • Vol V, Issue 1
In this edition:
- Hotel Law Operations - Bed Bugs
- Insurance Law and Risk Management
- Hotel Law Operations - Crib Safety
- Hotel Law Operations - Legionella
- What's New at HospitalityLawyer
- Industry Resources
Hotel Law Operations - Bed Bugs
Are Bed Bugs Here?
by Susan McKnight
Are you avoiding asking the question “Are bed bugs here?” By the time the first bed bug complaint comes to the attention of management, a bed bug infestation of a property has been present for weeks or months.
How could that happen? The first answer is bed bugs are stealthy. They stay very well hidden except during periods of activity in the middle of the night and they bite without anyone actually feeling the piercing of the skin. But, the second and more telling answer is bed bug bites do not make everyone itch at least not the first time bitten. In some studies, over half of the people tested did not react to the bite. For those who do react to the bite, itching may not start for hours/days afterward so people may be bitten by bed bugs but leave before they realized what happened. However, the third and the real answer is it happens because the management is not trying to find bed bugs.
This paper describes how to become proactive in detecting low levels of bed bug infestation.
Click here to read more
Insurance Law and Risk Management
Business Interruption and Extra Expense Insurance are the Most Important Commercial Coverages--and Often the Most Overlooked at Point of Sale and Adjustment
By William "Chip" Merlin, Jr.
There are two activities that would help many more commercial establishments remain in business following a catastrophe. First, insurance agents and risk managers should consider the statistics of failure for commercial enterprises following disaster and do a better job convincing commercial policyholders to purchase business interruption and extra expense coverage. The second activity is for insurance claims executives to pay those benefits quickly.
Hotel Law Operations - Crib Safety
Proactive Crib Safety Reduces Risk and is Good Business
By Barnet Kessel, Vice President of WEHSCO
On January 19, 2010 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled 635,000 baby cribs; this is in addition to the 2.1 million cribs they recalled in November, 2009. While the recall announcements confront a serious safety risk involving cribs sold at retail, they send a strong message about the importance of crib safety to the hospitality industry.
Over the past two years, there have been over 7 million cribs recalled in the U.S. These recalls span over a dozen brands and are in response to over 65 entrapment injuries and over 10 deaths.
It is important for hoteliers to understand the safety risks and opportunities in the realm of hotel cribs as well as what to look for when evaluating and purchasing cribs for their properties. Hotel cribs need to be safer and stronger than residential cribs because of the strenuous usage to which they are subjected. The following are considerations for hotel properties regarding crib purchase and safety:
Hotel Law Operations - Legionella
Legionnaires’ Disease – Nothing Ironic At All
By Tim Keane, Legionella Risk Management, Inc.
Dr. Vincent Conte of the Miami-Dade County Health Department said about the EPIC hotel Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, “What's ironic is the hotel installed a special filtration system to enhance the quality of their drinking water”. Too many Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks are caused by similar “ironic” scenarios. The 2006 International Plumbing code codified by the State of Florida and many other states as an example, requires hot water temperatures in buildings be maintained at a level that dramatically increases the risk for Legionnaires’ disease. Many well intentioned codes, from EPA regulations to plumbing codes are making Legionella in building water plumbing systems more likely to cause disease and more difficult to control.
What's New at HospitalityLawyer.com!
We are excited to announce hotel and restaurant law, safety, and security webinars.
HospitalityLawyer.com offers the following on-demand legal, safety, and security webinars, including:
- Protecting Your Investment, Part I, presented by Stephen Barth
- Protecting Your Investment, Part II, presented by Stephen Barth
- Being Prepared for H1N1 presented by Stephen Barth
- Disaster Response Planning, Including the Claims Process presented by Rob Sanderson, Jeff Chester, and Stan Szpytek sponsored by Advance Catastrophe Technologies, Inc.
-
Positive Leadership for Positive Performance, presented by Stephen Barth
-
Immigration: Where are we Today?, presented by Sarah Hawk with Fisher & Phillips
-
Developing a Responsible Alcohol Service Policy, presented by Elizabeth DeConti with Gray Robinson
-
Avoid Becoming the Next Headline - How to avoid a data breach, presented by Chris Zoladz with Navigate.
- Your Company Just Experienced a Data Breach - Now What?, presented by Chris Zoladz with Navigate.
Visit our Solutions Store for forms and checklists.
Front Line Newsletter
Jesse Denton, 2009 recipient of the Thomas G. Davis Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award, has graciously shared his recent Front Line Newsletter. This edition includes articles on Back Safety, Engineering the Workplace for employee safety, and counterfeit tips.
CPSC News
- Recall of Mattress World Mattress Sets for Violation of Federal Mattress Flammability Standard
- Drop Side Cribs Recalled by Caramia Furniture Due to Fall and Entrapment Hazards
- Dorel Asia Recalls To Replace Cribs; Pose Strangulation and Suffocation Hazards One infant death reported, 10 injuries to infants
- Generation 2 Worldwide and "ChildESIGNS" Drop Side Crib Brands Recalled; Three Infant Deaths Reported
Fire Protection Management Tips - The following Coffee Break Trainings will be of interest to the industry:
HospitalityLawyer.com
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Houston, Texas
77227
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